Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai Returns to Pakistan

Twenty-year-old Malala Yousafzai returned to her home country of Pakistan for the first time since a nearly fatal attack on her in 2012, The Washington Post reported. After the Taliban shot in the head for going to classes and advocating female education, Malala was flown to the U.K. for treatment, where doctors rebuilt her skull, according to The New York Times. Now, for the first time since leaving to seek that treatment, she's home.

“I have been dreaming of returning to Pakistan for the last five years, and today I am very happy, but I can still not believe that this is actually happening,” she said at a reception hosted by Pakistan's prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on March 29, according to a Washington Post report. “Today, after five and a half years, I have set foot on my soil. Whenever I would travel, in plane or in car, I would imagine that it’s Pakistan and I am driving in Islamabad. I would imagine this is Karachi, and it was never true, but now that I see it, I am very happy."

“I am 20 years old, but have seen many things in life, from growing up in Swat Valley, it was such a lovely place, and seeing extremism and terrorism there from 2007 to 2009, seeing how many difficulties our women and girls faced against those challenges,” she said, according to the Post. NPR reported that she said she “always dreamed of returning to Pakistan and living here in peace and without any fear.”

"God willing, Pakistan, the future of Pakistan, lies in its people," she said. "So we should invest in education of these children."

Malala’s arrival in Pakistan was met with excitement by many. Faryal Niaz, a 16-year-old student at the school where Malala studied before she was shot, said Malala was her idol. "When girls like us go to school in Swat the only reason is Malala Yousafzai," she told CNN. Comparing Malala's return to an Eid, Swat Valley teacher Fazal Khadiq told CNN, "Malala should come back again and again. She's only completed one school and we hope that she works on more schools in Swat."

The Washington Post also reported that Pakistan’s prime minister also expressed his respect for the Nobel laureate, saying, “The entire world gave you honor and respect and Pakistan will also give you honor. You are not an ordinary citizen; your security is our responsibility.”

According to The New York Times, she’s expected to visit her childhood home in the Swat Valley and the place where she was attacked by the Taliban. The Times reported she will also inaugurate a large school for girls being built in Shangla, a nearby district, with aid from the Malala Fund. Founded in 2013, the Malala Fund invests in local educational initiatives for girls in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, India, and countries housing Syrian refugees (such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey), according to its website.

Malala’s advocacy began with her blog for the BBC, which documented her life as an 11-year-old schoolgirl living under Taliban rule in her home, Swat Valley. As the BBC noted, she became a well-known public figure before she was shot at age 15.

Malala is currently an Oxford University student. She became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient ever, according to Guinness World Records, for her work as an education advocate and a global symbol of female strength, power, and resilience.